Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers reckons some people will be trying to ‘drive a wedge’ between him and the club’s board in the early stages of his return to Glasgow.
Rodgers has been honest about his opinion of Celtic’s transfer work since he was appointed manager. He made it clear last week that, like any manager in world football, he always feels his squad is a work in progress.
Some twisted that to mean that he was at odds with the direction or intent of the club. That twisting was something Rodgers noticed because, on his matchday media duties at the weekend, he made it clear to BBC Sportsound that he wouldn’t stand for his comments being taken out of context.
The Celtic boss said: “What I did say was that any manager who goes into a window will always feel at the end of a window they maybe could’ve done a little bit more. I never said anything else other than that, so I’ve been really happy with the boys that have come in. We know the areas that we want to improve in, we know the areas that we have to improve in. You’re never going to do that in one window.
“What we aim to do and what we want to do going forward is improve the quality within the squad. That doesn’t mean I’m not happy with the club so I’m pretty sure that people will look at that and focus on that and try to drive a wedge very, very early on between myself and the board.
“Whatever stories try to get created around that, they’ll be false. The minute I’m happy here, really happy with everything, is the time I probably move on because to drive standards and move things forward you have to be looking for more.”
Rodgers is spot on in setting the record straight. If a situation arises where he wants to call out the Celtic board, I don’t think we’ll have to be left reading between the lines. We didn’t during his first stint as manager.
The summer transfer window was not a perfect one for the club. I don’t think anyone would suggest otherwise. Rodgers certainly hasn’t. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand the club or has been left bemused by the work done.
If Celtic are going to move forward constructively then everyone needs to be on the same page and Rodgers is reaffirming that is the case from his perspective. Despite what some of the chattering says to the contrary.
In other news, Artur Boruc provides Maik Nawrocki Celtic hope.
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